In 1845, just seven years after his escape from slavery, the young Frederick Douglass published this powerful account of his life in bondage and his triumph over oppression.

The book, which marked the beginning of Douglass's career as an impassioned writer, journalist, and orator for the abolitionist cause, reveals the terrors he faced as a slave, the brutalities of his owners and overseers, and his harrowing escape to the North. It has become a classic of American autobiography.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a memoir and treatise on abolition written by famous orator and ex-slave, Frederick Douglass. It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th Century in the United States.

Frederick Douglass (February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia," Douglass was one of the most prominent figures in African American history, and one of the most influential lecturers and authors in American history. His towering posture showed dignity and strength, and when he spoke, his baritone voice was powerful. These features together gave Douglass a strong presence. He was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, American Indian, or recent immigrant. Douglass devoted his life to advocating the brotherhood of all humankind. He was fond of saying, "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong." (From Wikipeida.org)

Download Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

Pdf format, 340kb, published by Pennsylvania State University.

Useful Links:

Douglass' works online

• Works by Frederick Douglass at Project Gutenberg
• Extensive summary, analysis, and important quotes from "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"
• Online Books Page (University of Pennsylvania)
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass at Project Gutenberg.
• Audio book of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass at FreeAudio.org.
• The Heroic Slave at the Documenting the American South website.
• My Bondage and My Freedom at Project Gutenberg.
• Collected Articles Of Frederick Douglass, A Slave (Project Gutenberg)
• Fourth of July Speech
• The Louverture Project: Frederick Douglass lecture on Haiti - Given at the World's Fair in Chicago, January 1893.

Biographical information

• Frederick Douglass (American Memory, Library of Congress) Includes timeline.
• Timeline of Frederick Douglass and family
• Frederick Douglas Timeline
• Read more about Frederick Douglass
• Frederick Douglass NHS - Douglass' Life
• Frederick Douglass NHS - Cedar Hill National Park Service site
• Frederick Douglass Western New York Suffragists
• Mr. Lincoln and Freedom: Frederick Douglass
• Mr. Lincoln's White House: Frederick Douglass

Memorials to Frederick Douglass

• Frederick Douglas National Historic Site The Washington, DC home of Frederick Douglass
• Frederick Douglass Gardens at Cedar Hill Frederick Douglass Gardens development & maintenance organization
• The Frederick Douglass Prize A national book prize sponsored by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition

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